are heading down to breakfast together when they discover that Manny has not activated his dining card—meaning he cannot enter the cafeteria. Bud gives Manny his card and resigns himself to skipping breakfast but Chrissie volunteers to buy him something elsewhere and the two of them leave. While eating they talk and eventually the talk turns to baseball when Bud suddenly realizes that Chrissie is only being nice to him to get him to join the team and leaves insulted. That evening Chrissie's father comes to Bud's dorm and offers not to report the damage Bud caused to his car in return for his joining the team. At first Bud resists but after discovering that Manny, also a catcher, probably will not make the team due to Chrissie and calling his mother and finding out the projected rise in the insurance premiums, he shows up to practice on one condition: only Manny can catch for him. Characters Bud Waterston: The main character, Bud is a horny, perverted teenage boy who is a very loyal friend to Manny. He also has an incredible gift as a pitcher—able to throw a fastball accurately at 100 mph—but refuses to play baseball because of the suicide of his father. When dealing with Bud the Japanese convention of nosebleeds as signaling sexual arousal is turned on its head—while his nose does bleed around Chrissie, it is always the result of blunt trauma (e.g. hit in face by a baseball, running into a door, etc.). In addition he usually seems to lose his temper quite easily around her. Manny: Best friends with Bud since childhood, Manny used to be Bud's primary catcher until Bud quit baseball. He is stockier than Bud, and there is a running joke about his love of food. He is also something of a mama's boy in that he often speaks with his mother on the phone for long periods even if she is the one that calls him. Despite this he always sticks up for Bud and backs up his friend. Chrissie: Starting catcher of the Wilton State baseball team and at least a year older than Bud, Chrissie does not need her relationship as the manager's daughter to ensure her position—she is an excellent catcher. She began playing baseball to spend more time with her father but eventually developed a love for it. A little uptight in regards to the